Mumbai: India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Women all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar will miss the Women's Premier League 2026 season for the first two weeks due to a hamstring injury, confirmed RCB head coach Malolan Rangarajan.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after RCB's win over Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2026 opener, Malolan stated that Pooja Vastrakar is unavailable for selection due to a hamstring injury she sustained at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. He said Pooja was initially there for shoulder treatment but tweaked her hamstring, and her recovery will be monitored week by week, with an expected two-week absence.
RCB Coach Malolan Rangarajan's Statement
"Pooja Vastrakar is not available for selection. Two weeks prior to her release from the CoE, she unfortunately tweaked her hamstring. The information we have at the moment is that she will be there for two weeks more. She was there for her shoulder; now she has a hamstring issue. It's a week-by-week process. So let's see where she is at," RCB coach Malolan Rangarajan said after the team's opening game of WPL 2026.
Coming to the MI vs RCB match, the Bengaluru-based franchise registered a come-from-behind win over the defending champions, owing to the heroics from Nadine de Klerk as she grabbed a four-fer followed by a match-winning half-century. Chasing 155, de Klerk slammed 20 runs off the last over to get her side over the line and secure a win by three wickets over the defending champions.
RCB had won the toss and had opted to field first. After MI was reduced to 67/4, an 82-run stand between S Sajana (45 in 25 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Nicola Carey (40 in 29 balls, with four boundaries) took MI to 154/6, with Nadine (4/26) and Lauren Bell (1/14) bowling incredible four-over spells.
Chasing the total, RCB was off to a fine start and put a 40-run opening stand with Grace Harris (25 in 12 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and skipper Smriti Mandhana (18 in 13 balls, with four boundaries) firing all cylinders. Spell from Amelia Kerr (2/13) played a crucial role in swinging the tide towards MI's favour, reducing RCB to 65/5. But a 52-run stand between Nadine and Arundhati Reddy (20 in 25 balls, with two fours) kept RCB alive in the hunt. With 18 runs left in the final over, after two dot balls against Sciver-Brunt, Nadine nailed her for 6,4,6 and 4 to seal a memorable win, with Prema Rawat (8* in four balls with two fours) playing a little cameo.
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